“Only to be picked up by the most unlikely person imaginable: Bilbo from the shire! Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker.”     ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

In March we celebrated Ivy’s birthday and invited two of her friends to Monkey Joes and afterward we had lunch at McDonalds. While there the kids were playing and we sat talking when I noticed a car in the parking lot. It had been wrecked, with the front fender broken wide open. But more startling, now out in the open sat the car battery… of course, being me, I grabbed the camera and went outside to take a picture.

My parents made the trek down to Mexico to visit my little brother, Jacob. While there they had all kinds of stories, including the constant rain. Which seemed to melt the whole town into mud, since the roads are not paved. But at the end of the trip my dad got sick. It was probably something he ate, but by the next morning he was still very sick. Of course my mom was stressed, but Jacob didn’t miss a beat. Instead he went to the store and bought antibiotics for dad. It seems in Mexico, right alongside the aspirin is every kind of common medicine, from steroids to the antibodies dad needed. Who needs a doctor?!

When Jake and I spoke this brought on a conversation about health care. Not the national debate, as you might expect. Instead, Jacob wondered why we had to go to the doctor for a prescription, “Why can’t the States be as free as Mexico?” Of course I did not envy the unpaved freedoms found in Jake’s home! But it was certainly good for dad, who quickly recovered.

Coming back inside McDonald’s, I looked back out at the car only to realize there was someone inside. Surely they were not there when I took the photo… but a quick review of the photos and yes, I was the creepy guy taking pictures while someone sat in their car. It is funny how we miss what is important. (See Below)

The chaos of Mexico would have me believe it is the worst place for dad to get sick (and granted I am sure Mexican standards caused his illness). But in reality the muddy little town of Croc provided the easiest way for him to recover. In the same we often expect God at Church and He is there. But if we would open our eyes we would find that He is also in the least likely of places. Places where evil seems too great, He is at work. There, when most of would prefer to flee, He is prepared to transform and renew. While the presence of evil is frighteningly loud—as thunder from lightning. Good is often toiling quietly, unnoticed—unfeared. But while we struggle to see beyond evil’s design, we will find that Good has the victory—always had the victory.

On this picture: this is one of those healthy moments, where you step back and realize… man, I am an idiot. Thankfully, since it happens to me regularly, this IS a healthy thought. Psychologists may not agree, but in reality it is good to realize the world is not dependent on me…

On another note, I am also thankful the guy did not come tearing out of the car. While I may have deserved verbal abuse, I am still glad it did not happen! Plus my daughter will have enough issues with me as her dad, much less having me create paparazzi situations in McDs on her birthday!